One of the best parts of growing up for me, as with just about any child, was Christmas.  Back when I was a young child, we’d come to my grandmother’s house which was in Lenoir, North Carolina.  We’d have to drive there from Springfield Ohio, down the dreaded West Virginia turnpike (that’s what my dad called it as he cursed quite a bit driving down it) and into the foothills of North Carolina.  My grandmother’s house was a magical place to me as a child.  There was a large, unfinished basement that was filled with things for us to play with.  My aunt had a dog, Lady, that would love on us when we got there.  Not having pets at the time, spending time with Lady the Dog was a Christmas treat in and of itself.  Best of all was the party that we’d have on Christmas Eve.  Filled with relatives, cookies, cakes and candies, and loads and loads of presents.  We’d gather around a silver tree…do you remember those garish things?  And distribute what felt like an inexhaustible number of presents to be distributed.  It was a joyful time, to be sure.

  What do your Christmas memories look like?  Are you able to scan back through the years to find those warm memories which fill us with joy whenever we recall them?  Chances are that during the Christmas season, we will experience a measure of JOY. And, just like it’s suggested in the Grinch that stole Christmas, it’ll come despite all the troubles, worries and anxieties which normally weigh us down throughout the year. 

  I’ll never forget experiencing a taste of Christmas joy on the drive home from a midnight service at River Hills Community Church.  This warm, pleasant feeling just surrounded my whole body.  I knew in that moment without a shadow of a doubt of my salvation.  Knew that Jesus Christ had really atoned for my sin, really prepared a place for me in the Kingdom that comes.  What was amazing about that experience of JOY was that it came at a most unhappy time.  You see, it was the very first Christmas after my sister died suddenly and unexpectedly.  We were all still deeply mourning the loss of my sister.  In fact, the entire Advent season really had been spent in a depression as I went through the motions of being merry at Christmas but had almost no sense of God’s love.

  As I look back on the most joyful times of my life, I am reminded that they were all surrounded by some unpleasantness or some uncertainty which made the joy even more appreciated when it arrived.  For example, my son Benjamin was brought into this world, bringing with him a whole new measure of joy on the day the market crashed in 2008.  I remember going to the cafeteria after Ben was safely delivered and seeing that Wachovia stock was listed under $1.  That would’ve represented a big loss for us but, at the time, I literally could’ve cared less.  The joy of the moment had me so elevated that I couldn’t imagine anything but blue skies and sunshine coming in the days ahead.  So, too, at Natalie and my wedding, things weren’t perfect – the caterer did a bad job, the wedding director blew some things but still, JOY arrived in great abundance.

  So why is that?  Why were we able to experience such joy under such adverse situations?

  Well, to begin with, it helps to remember that joy and happiness aren’t the same thing.  One of the very obvious differences between happiness and joy is that happiness tends to be dependent on external events, while joy is something achieved internally. For example, we can feel happy when we receive something like a gift or achieve something like awards or honors. These things are external or belong to the surface of our lives.

  Joy, on the other hand, is something deeper. It is something we feel internally in our lives as human beings.  It’s the reason why we can hear these words of James and not lose our minds.  James 1:2-3 – “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.”

  Now let me confess something.   I sometimes find this scripture more baffling than any other but believe it to be true, nevertheless.  Just last weekend, when I had an accident in my car that was ENTIRELY my fault, believe you me, my first reaction wasn’t of JOY.  But what James suggests to us connects us with why JOY and happiness aren’t the same thing.  Happiness is external.  Joy is internal and is ultimately attached to our salvation in Jesus Christ.  That’s why James can so casually say to us, you know what, when you’re tested, you ought to rejoice because James knows that joy is always a choice for us.  We can always luxuriate in the joyful knowledge of our salvation.